Leadon Vale Care Ltd

Updated 23 March 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Leadon Vale Care Limited is a domiciliary care service, registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 14 March 2022 and ended on 15 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 14 March 2022.

What we did before the inspection

In planning our inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service. This included any notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about) and feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with the registered manager who is also the Nominated Individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. The deputy manager, a care staff member, the office manager and the office administrator.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records and risk assessments. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff rotas, accident and incident analysis, the complaints log and quality assurance record.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at the providers statement of purpose, training records and policies and procedures. We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives.

Updated 23 March 2022

About the service

Leadon Vale Care Limited is a domiciliary care service. People are supported in their own homes so that they can live as independently as possible. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people receiving personal care.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff understood how to recognise and alert others to potential abuse involving people who used the service. The risks associated with people’s care and support needs were assessed, managed and kept under review. People received a consistent and reliable service, provided by regular staff with whom they were familiar.

The provider demonstrated safe recruitment practices. They carried out checks on the suitability of staff before they started work.

People had the support they needed to manage and take their medicines safely. The provider had measures in place to protect people from infections. The management team reviewed any accidents or incidents involving people who used the service, in order to learn from these.

Before people started to use the service their individual needs and preferences were discussed and recorded for staff to follow. Staff had received training to reflect people’s needs and their responsibilities.

People had support to prepare their meals and drinks where they needed this. Staff and management worked effectively with community health and social care professionals to ensure people’s needs were met.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The management team promoted a person-centred culture within the service. People’s care and support was kind and caring. People and their relatives were encouraged to provide feedback about the service they received, so any improvements could be identified.

The provider had quality assurance systems and processes in place to enable them to monitor and improve people's care. Staff and management sought to maintain positive working relationships with the community professionals involved in people’s care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 18 July 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.